WASHINGTON (March 6, 2010)--President Barack Obama again used his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday to try to convince a skeptical public of the need for his health care overhaul plan.

In a tough political environment, Mr. Obama also targeted Democratic lawmakers who are wavering on the plan.

Republicans repeated their call to start from scratch on a proposal that would potentially reshape how all Americans receive health care, but Mr. Obama said meetings with insurance industry representatives convinced him that starting over isn't a good idea.

He said insurance companies couldn't give him "a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums."

"If we do not act, they will continue to do this,” he said.

In the Republican’s weekly media message, Rep. Parker Griffith of Alabama emphasized the urgency to stop what he called "this government takeover of health care."